I Saw the Name in My Fiance’s Heart So I Walked Away Chapter 04
The room went dead silent.
Riley was frozen solid, not moving a single muscle.
Derek straightened up, eyes fixed on me, cold. “Happy now? Isn’t this what you’ve been so sure of all along?”
Riley finally jolted back. She shoved him hard. “Derek, have you lost your mind?” Her voice shook. She looked
at me, frantic.
But my expression didn’t shift at all. I just lifted my hands and gave two soft claps, a smile on my face.
“Wow. Really well done.‘
“Congrats. You two deserve each other.”
I pulled my suitcase around and walked toward the door.
Behind me, Derek’s face twisted. Someone whispered, “Is she serious? Aren’t you going after her?”
He moved a half–step, then forced himself to stop. A few seconds later, he bit out the words through clenched teeth. “Let her go. She’s not actually going to
end things with me.”
Both sentences landed right in my ears. My feet moved faster.
The last thing I saw before the elevator doors closed was Riley frantically wiping her tears and Derek’s
glare locked onto me.
I chose Derek back then because of how attentive he
was, how sure of himself he seemed. Now that attentiveness didn’t belong to me anymore. And that confidence that certainty that I’d never leave-
needed to end right here.
I hailed a cab. “Airport.”
As the car pulled away from the hospital, the city scrolled past outside the window. I saw the jewelry store where Derek bought my engagement ring. I saw the mall where Riley and I used to wander for hours.
This city held so many memories. Now they were just that. Memories.
I stepped into the jet bridge, glanced back at the lights behind me one last time, and then walked without hesitation toward the Crescent Dunes that belonged only to me.
Back in the hospital room, people exchanged awkward looks and quietly slipped out.
Riley scrubbed the tears off her face, her voice still trembling. “Derek, why did you do that?”
He rubbed his temples, jaw tight. “I just wanted to make her mad. If I crossed a line with you, I’m sorry.”
Her voice pitched higher. “You just made her hate me even more.‘
He couldn’t find a reply.
She turned away, voice dropping low. “Just go. I want to be alone.”
He stood there a beat too long, then grabbed his jacket and left.
He pulled out his phone. No messages. No missed calls. Something hot and restless coiled tight in his chest.
This had never happened before. Even after bad fights, I’d always texted him within half an hour. Maybe this time he really had gone too far.
But the thought barely surfaced before he shoved it back down. He’d started looking out for Riley only because she was my best friend. Taking care of her felt like taking something off my plate.
Later, when her work kept tripping over small details,
he helped a few times. It became a habit.
And I couldn’t see that. I blew everything up in public. This mess–I brought it on myself.
He let out a breath and told the driver, “Fairview Tower.”
He spent the next week crashing at the corporate housing.
Then Riley got discharged and asked to meet for dinner.
She sat across the table, looking better but exhausted under the eyes. “Derek, I want to send Maya a message. Apologize.”
His knife paused mid–cut.
She stirred her water. “But I don’t even know what to say.”
“What if we went to see her? Together. I could apologize in person, and you could smooth things over.”
He didn’t answer right away. All week, he’d opened my chat more times than he could count and forced himself not to send anything. But the truth sat heavy: I had never gone this long without reaching out.
He set his utensils down. “Let’s go right now.”
Relief washed over her face. “I’ll grab something she likes.”
“No need.” He picked up his keys. “I’ll smooth it over as soon as we see her.‘
By the time they got to the condo in Millbrook
Gardens, the sky was dark.
He punched in the code. The lock clicked open.
The apartment was pitch black inside.
He stood in the entryway, a strange weight sinking through his chest. “Maya?”
No answer.
He flipped on the lights. His eyes dropped to the shoe rack. A whole section was empty.
His face paled. He rushed through the living room, then into the bedroom.
Riley stood in the doorway, color draining from her cheeks. “Derek, is she…”
He didn’t respond. He circled the whole place until his eyes landed on the dining table.
A single note was sitting there. He picked it up. Read it once. His heart stopped.